


the kid in the snow

by amybri2002



Series: febuwhump 2021 [8]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst with a Hopeful Ending, Blood and Injury, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Hypothermia, Implied Child Abuse, Implied Physical Abuse, M/M, kid!Janus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 04:47:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29290095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amybri2002/pseuds/amybri2002
Summary: Patton and Logan find a kid in the snow, alone and freezing to death, and do everything in their power to help him.
Relationships: Deceit | Janus Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Deceit | Janus Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Series: febuwhump 2021 [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2138040
Comments: 6
Kudos: 71





	the kid in the snow

**Author's Note:**

> day eight!!! today’s prompt was “hey, hey, this is no time to sleep”, so what i bring to y’all is a good ol’ janus has hyperthermia fic, but this time janus gets to be a child :) hope y’all enjoy

When Patton had decided to take a walk through the snow with his husband that morning, he hadn’t been expecting to find a kid, no older than eight or nine, curled up in the alley next to their house, half buried in the snow, half frozen to death. It wasn’t a surprise, however, when both Patton and Logan immediately ran over to him, crouching down and trying to figure out what to do, how to help him. 

“Hey,” Patton said, keeping his voice quiet, soft. 

The kid looked up with wide eyes, backing away from the two, further up against the wall. The poor thing was shivering, lips and fingertips turning blue, only wearing a t-shirt and jeans, both of which were covered in holes. He had cuts covering one side of his face, and bruises over his arms, standing out against his pale skin. Christ, what had  _ happened _ to this kid? 

“It’s okay, we’re not going to hurt you,” Patton promised, carefully reaching out for the kid. “I’m Patton, and this is Logan. We’re here to help you, okay?” 

The kid just looked absolutely terrified, eyes flicking between Patton and Logan, looking as though he wanted to be absolutely anywhere else. 

“Stay with him,” Logan murmured besides him, quiet enough that hopefully the kid wouldn’t hear. “Keep him calm, I’ll go grab a first aid kit. I’d… suggest that we take him inside, but I don’t think he’d trust us enough.” 

Patton nodded a little, as Logan stood up to head back instead, before he shuffled a little closer to the kid, only for him to back away again. Patton took in a deep breath, trying to keep himself calm. “I  _ promise  _ that I’m not going to hurt you, okay?” 

After a moment, the kid slowly nodded. 

“Can you… tell me your name, please?” 

It took a few moments for the kid to muster up the courage to reply, because he quietly said, “Janus.” 

Patton nodded, still keeping a soft smile on his face. “It’s nice to meet you, Janus. I… Where are your parents?” 

Janus’ eyes widened, and he seemed to grow panicked for a moment, just at the mention of that. 

“Hey, shh, it’s okay, I’m sorry,” Patton quickly said. “You don’t have to answer that, we’ll help you either way, yeah?” Did this kid not have any parents? Maybe they were dead, or maybe they’d… abandoned him, or… or maybe… 

The thought made him sick to the stomach, but still, Patton couldn’t help but wonder if the parents were the reason why this kid looked so beat up. 

“How long have you been out here?” Patton asked instead, carefully. 

“I, um…” Janus took in a deep breath. “A couple days, I think? I don’t… I don’t really… know…” 

Patton looked heartbroken at that, at the thought that this poor kid was just… alone, on the streets, hurt and cold, with nowhere to go. No one to help him. But he tried his hardest not to let it show, tried to keep himself calm for Janus. “Okay, okay, thank you for telling me that.” He glanced back to the entrance of the alleyway, waiting desperately for Logan’s return. “I… Look, I know you don’t really know me, but… I think it may a good idea to bring you inside-“ 

That idea just seemed to make Janus panic more, all the trust he’d previously gained in Patton vanishing. 

“Okay, okay, sorry, sorry, we can stay out here,” Patton said, not missing the way that Janus visibly relaxed. “Just… thought it would be better, we don’t want you to stay out here in the cold.” He paused for a moment. “Do you want my jacket? You… look freezing. It might be a bit big, but… it could be like a blanket, I guess?” 

Janus took a moment to respond again, looking warily at Patton, almost as if he was afraid that this was a trick, that… Patton would hurt him. Again, it made Patton feel sick. But still, Janus slowly nodded, offering Patton a thankful smile. 

Patton quickly smiled back, before taking off his jacket - he’d been wearing several layers underneath anyway, he wasn’t going to miss  _ one  _ jacket - and handing it over to Janus, who quickly pulled it on, burying himself into it. He exhaled, expelling white breath, still shivering, but… looking slightly more content, all wrapped up. 

Just then, Logan came back around the corner, crouching down again besides Janus. “Alright, let’s… figure out how we’re going to do this. I… Is it okay if I touch you?” 

Janus’ eyes snapped wide open, staring at Logan with… slight fear. Logan seemed taken back. 

Patton placed a hand on Logan’s arm, pulling him back for a moment and lowering his voice to a whisper. “I… think he’s had some bad experiences, with- with adults. Best to be… careful, with him. Cautious.” 

Logan stared at Patton, before slowly nodding and turning back to the kid. “Sorry, I… promise I’m not going to hurt you, or do anything to make you uncomfortable, okay? I’d like to try to clean up those cuts on your face, if you’re… alright with me touching you, just for a minute.” 

Janus looked Logan up and down, taking a while to… gain some trust in him, apparently, before he sighed, and slowly nodded, shuffling a little closer to Logan. 

Logan gave him a warm, reassuring smile. “Thank you, uh-“ 

“Janus,” the kid introduced to him, voice barely above a whisper. 

“Janus,” Logan completed, before turning back to the first aid kit, getting out a cloth and some disinfectant, and then moving to clean up his cuts. “Just hold still for me, I won’t be a minute, you’re doing great.” 

Janus smiled a little at the praise, and that was enough to warm Patton’s heart, as he watched Logan clean him up. Though as he watched Janus’ eyes begin to droop, skin growing paler, his face fell. 

“Hey, hey, this is no time to sleep,” Logan said, pulling away a little. He’d finished wiping away the blood staining his cheeks and disinfecting some of the worst wounds, though seemed to grow more concerned as he looked at Janus. Despite Logan’s urges for Janus to stay awake, he just slumped against Logan, drifting off into unconsciousness. “ _ Shit _ ,” Logan mumbled. 

“Language,” Patton chided. “We’re still in the presence of a child-“ 

“He’s  _ falling asleep _ , Patton,” Logan said, shifting to hold the kid, who didn’t protest. Couldn’t protest, really. 

“So?” Patton looked at Janus for a moment. “Probably needs the sleep, poor guy…” 

“Patton, I… suspect that he has hyperthermia, falling asleep right now would likely cause more damage.” He shook his head, looking back down at Janus. He’d already fallen asleep. “We need to get him inside.” 

“But-“ 

“I know, I know, he didn’t want to, but… Patton, this could be  _ life or death _ .” A pause. “We have to help in whatever way we can, and right now, that means getting him inside, getting him somewhere safe.” 

Patton took a deep breath, considering, before slowly nodding. “Okay, okay, you’re… right.” He reached over, taking the kid in his arms, Logan allowing him to pry him away, and stood up, before beginning to walk back into his house, Logan following close behind. 

Once inside, Patton moved Janus onto the couch, piling pillows around his head and wrapping him tight in several blankets, which Janus subconsciously snuggled into in his sleep. Logan injected the kid with… something, Patton wasn’t sure, Logan had claimed that it would help wake him up, and eventually recover. He’d then instructed Patton to stay by the kid’s side as he went into the kitchen, preparing some soup for when he woke up, and further medication just in case. 

Patton sat by Janus’ side, gently stroking through his hair, and though he still shivered, a small smile did creep into his face. Eventually, his eyes blinked up, and he looked up at Patton, for a moment afraid, confused, almost trying to pull away, getting up. 

“Hey, hey, shh,” Patton tried to calm him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. “You’re safe, okay? Logan’s making you some soup, we just wanted to get you somewhere warm. I’m Patton, remember?” 

Janus still seemed alarmed, but… slowly began to relax, burying himself deeper into the blankets. Patton smiled softly, sympathetically. 

“Sorry,” Janus mumbled. “I, um…”

“There’s nothing you have to apologise for,” Patton said, frowning a little. 

“But I… you…” 

“Logan and I are happy to help, okay? We don’t want you to suffer.” Silence for a moment. “Do you… think you could tell me what happened? Why you were on the street?” 

Janus tensed, tears beginning to build up in his eyes. He quickly shook his head. 

“Okay, okay, that’s… fine, you can take all the time you need, okay?” Patton sighed. “Or you don’t have to tell us at all, that’s… also okay. As long as you let us help you, yeah?” 

He was still for a second, considering, before slowly nodding. “Okay. I… Thank you.”

Patton smiled. “Of course.” 

A few moments later, Logan returned with a bowl of soup, and Patton helped Janus to sit up, wrapping an arm around his shoulder as Janus began to eat the soup, some colour beginning to return to his face. Recovering. Logan set up some Disney movie in the background, to which Janus’ eyes lit up, eyes glued to the screen for a short while, sandwiched between the two men, soaking up their warmth. 

Eventually, Janus began to drift off to sleep again, and Patton frowned, going to shake him awake, before Logan reached over and caught his arm, shaking his head. 

“Let him,” he said, quietly. “Poor thing’s been through a lot, he’ll be alright.” 

Patton hesitated, but nodded nonetheless, lowering his arm again, still holding Janus close, as Janus rested his head against his shoulder, drifting off into a deep sleep. At that point, Patton allowed a few tears to roll down his cheek. 

Logan frowned, glancing over at his husband. “Are you alright, my dear heart?” 

Patton took in a deep breath, clearly still trying his hardest to hold himself together. “I just… it’s not fair. Who would  _ do  _ this? Leave a poor child all alone, out- out on the street, in the  _ snow  _ for Christ’s sake, I…” He sucked in another deep breath, feeling himself getting worked up, but trying to keep his voice quiet, as to not wake the kid. “You saw the bruises on his arms, right? That’s not… he… and his  _ face _ , I-“

“I know, Patton, I know.” Logan sighed, glancing down at Janus for a moment, before he locked eyes with Patton. “The important thing is that he is safe now. We’ll do everything in our power to ensure that he stays that way, yeah? We’ll figure this out, I promise.” 

Patton took in another deep breath, shakily exhaling, before slowly nodding. “I… okay. Okay. You’re right. I…” He wiped at his eyes, trying to get rid of any evidence of his tears. “He’ll be okay. We’ll… help him.”

Logan smiled, nodding in agreement, then leant back against the couch. They’d… figure this whole thing out, Janus would be just fine. 

Patton may not have expected this to happen, but… he was glad that it did. If only to ensure that this poor child had a safe space, and hopefully, in the future, a good home. 


End file.
